Railroad-spike.



Y L. B. CAMPBELL.

RAILROAD SPIKE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 9,1908.

Patented Feb. 22, 1910.

Mn/mum ANDREW a mum co. mm-mnunnmsfiawasumcrw, n. c

ill

nrr

PTNT @FTQE.

LUTE ENSIGN CAMPBELL, OF TULSA, OKLAITOll/IA, ASSIG-NOB OF ONE-HALF TO LEVI W. LINDSEY, 0F TULSA, OKLAHOYMA.

RAILROAD-SPIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 9, 1908.

Patented Feb. 22, 1910.

Serial No. 426,032.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LUTn ENSIGN CAMP- BELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Tulsa, in the county of Tulsa and State of Oklahoma, have invented a new and useful Railroad-Spike, of which the following is a specification.

Theinvention relates to improvements in railroad spikes.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of railroad spikes, and to provide efiicient means for locking the spike against both upward and backward movement, whereby the rail will be prevented from spreading and the spike from becoming loose.

lVith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended; it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawing :'--F igure 1 is a perspective View of a railroad spike, constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation, showing the spike in engagementwith the rail.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawing.

The railroad spike, which consists of a straight shank 1 and a rail-engaging head 2, is provided at the outer side with an inclined brace 3, tapered downwardly and extending from the outer end of the head 2 and arranged at an angle to the upper portion of the shank l. The head 2, which projects from the inner or front side of the shank for engaging the bottom flange of the rail 4, also extends outwardly or rearwardly from the shank and has a flat upper face and is of the usual construction. The lower end 5 is tapered to enable it to be readily driven into a cross tie. The downwardly and rearwardly inclined tapered brace 3, which has straight faces, terminates in a point to enable it to readily penetrate the wood of a cross tie, and when the spike is driven into a cross tie, the brace prevents the spike from In order to lock the spike in the cross tie Q and prevent the former from becoming loose, the shank l is provided at the rear face with a downwardly tapered enlargement 6, forming an upper shoulder and located at the bottom of the recess 7, formed by the brace and the upper portion of the shank. The inner face of the brace is arranged at an acute angle to the outer face of the shank, and it merges into the said outer face at the upper end of the shank, and the recess or space he tween the inner face of the brace and the outer face of the shank is relatively long and upwardly tapered. The upper edge or shoulder formed by the enlargement is located in a plane slightly above the point of the brace, and it thereby confines the wood of the cross tie within the recess. The space between the point of the brace and the shank is constricted by the enlargement, and the wood of the cross tie engages the upper end of the same. The enlargement besides cooperating with the brace to lock the spike in the cross tie also strengthens the shank at a point where it would otherwise be liable to bend and thereby assist the brace in preventing the spike from being forced backward out of engagement with the rail. When the spike is extracted, the enlargement resists the upward movement until the wood confined in the recess 7 is freed, then it offers no further material resistance to the pulling of the spike.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A spike consisting of a shank, a railengaging head, an enlargement extending outwardly from the rear side of the shank at a point below the head, and an inclined brace extending downwardly and rear-' wardly from the head at the upper end of the shank and having its inner face arranged at an acute angle to the outer face of the shank at the upper portion thereof and cooperating with the shank to form a long relatively narrow upwardly tapered recess, said brace extending to a point sufficiently near the enlargement to cause the latter to constrict the mouth of the recess and confine the wood therein.

2. A spike consisting of a shank, a railengaging head, a downwardly tapered enlargement extending from the rear side of the shank at a point below the head and forming an upper shoulder, and a tapered inclined brace extending downwardly from the upper end of the shank and having its inner face arranged at an acute angle to and merging into the outer face of the shank at the upper end thereof and cooperating with the said outer face of the shank to for-ma recess, said brace extending to a point sufficiently near the enlargement to cause the same to project into the recess and the shoulder of the enlargement being arranged to engage the wood to confine the same in the recess. 7

3. A spike consisting of a shank, a railengaging head projecting in advance and in rear of the shank, a downwardly tapered enlargement extending from the rear side of the shank at a point below the head and forming an upper shoulder, and a brace extending downwardly from the upper end of the shank and having its inner face arranged at an acute angle to and merging into the .outer face of the shank at the upper end thereof and cooperating with the said outer face of the shank to form a recess, said brace having its upper end of a thickness c0- extensive wlth the length of the rearwardly projecting portion of the head of the spike and provided with a pointed lower end and extending to a point sufficiently near the shoulder of the enlargement to cause the latter to project into the said recess, the shoulder of the enlargement being arranged to engage the wood to confine the same in the recess.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afiixed my slgna-ture in the presence of two wltnesses.

LUTE ENSIGN CAMPBELL.

Witnesses EDWARD J. KENNEDY, FRED DOLL. 

